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Allele – Next To Parallel – Review

Allele’s 2006 track Stitches was featured on the WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007 video game, boosting their publicity tenfold and gaining them a widespread fanbase. But at the time no one would have guessed that there would be a six-year wait for the follow up to the Floridian five-piece’s successful Point Of Origin debut.

Next to Parallel isn’t a bad record on a one dimensional level – appealing to an already established, eager audience who are pleased enough to hear more of the same – but it won’t reel many new fans.

It could be said for most songs on Next To Parallel, but particularly on Hurt, Closure and Dead And Cold – Allele don’t lyrically gamble with anything overly complicated. They stick to their own version of the personal – delving into issues with a route-one attitude, carrying a straight-forward, alluring and unpretentious message that can be universally understood.

This does at times make for a repetitive record and a one that overruns in length. There are hits like opening track Let It Go and the lovely guitar work of Something Cured that promise much, but its marred by too much filler. You just wonder whether their 2007-10 hiatus bottled their enthusiasm for a little too long.

Stay Down has some poor hardcore-styled shouts to deface an already poor song – it’s probably the worst on the album. The major constellation is follow-up title-track Next to Parallel, which at least gives us some fat riffs to wrangle with alongside the furnished production job that glistens Wally Wood’s sleek vocals.

If Saliva are too Bizkit-bolstered rap and Seether too grungy then Allele may be worth a try. Let’s just hope it’s not another six-years before they attempt to better this attempt.

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One comment on “Allele – Next To Parallel – Review”

“Next to Parallel isn’t a bad record on a one dimensional level – appealing to an already established, eager audience who are pleased enough to hear more of the same – but it won’t reel many new fans.”

Completely agree with you there. As a fan of their original work, I still enjoyed this new entry but even I found it a little underwhelming. I think they lacked the metal inclinations they so effectively displayed in “Point of Origin”